Well, our dog’s name would be an outlier on this list. It comes from neither a leader nor an ancestor (and sorry, I would never have thought of using a dorm name). Here’s the back story:

I had been trying to convince my wife for a few years that we needed a dog. No go. She grew up in another county, and, well, let’s just say that dogs aren’t highly valued in her culture.

One snowy night in New Hampshire, being tired from skiing all day, we decided to relax and watch a movie. There was an old Thin Man flick on from the 1930s with Myrna Loy and William Powell. I knew she had never seen a Thin Man movie, but would like it, so that was the choice.

The basic plot of the Thin Man is that Powell is a retired detective and gets roped into solving an important case, with Loy helping out and adding comedy. Anyway, they had a dog that also was a hit in the movie. It was a wire-haired fox terrier. Smart as a whip, the dog -- named ‘Asta’, helped solve the case.

In the middle of the movie, my wife said, “You know that’s a smart dog. If we could find a dog like that, I would consider it.” That’s all I needed.

Next day, I was on the phone to the American Fox Terrier Club scouting out breeders. We found a good breeder with pups available in Buffalo. Off we went.

My wife fell in love with one of the boy pups and we took him home. When I asked her what she wanted to name her new dog, she said, “Asta, of course.” What could I say? As simply as that, this is how our Asta got ‘Asta’ as a name.

Maybe not prep, but we all have to make sacrifices along the way. He is the best dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of caring for. Smart beyond what should be rational for a dog, my wife has trained him well. And, like the Norfolk in Muffy’s photos, Asta goes everywhere with us. My wife wouldn’t think of leaving him home.

We have a beautiful Borzoi...(Russian Wolfhound.) She was from the "H" litter at her breeders, and the breeder was going to name her "Hannah". But we named her "Lara", after the Julie Christie character in Dr. Zhivago, because Hannah was too plain. You have to be a child of the 60's to get the reference!

My dogs had names that matched thier personalities. My golden retriever, Seldom, was always down on the river about a half mile from the house. He usually showed up around dinnertime and always before bedtime. He was "seldom seen but not forgotten." Stretch, who died this past March, loved to stretch out where ever he lay; the couch, back seat of the truck, etc.

But the king of all was a little stray American shorthair cat, pure white with pink nose and paw pads. Not more than 7.5 lbs. when full grown, Mighty Whitey.

Ok. Here is your non-prep dog with a non-prep name story: we have a Miniature Pinscher (!?!?!) that we "inherited" from our daughter when she realized dogs and apartments are not compatible. The dog is named Roxy because our daughter originally named her Charlie ( she loves Charlie Chaplin) but people kept getting confused as to the dog's gender. She couldn't think of a name, but saw "Roxy" on a car sticker. Sooooo, after a lifetime of large dogs we now have a Roxy. Annnnd, we love her. Never met a dog I didn't like!

My first dog was named Chief after my father’s friend Pompey, Chief of the Wingaersheek tribe. He was a Springer from a great line of bird dogs and he stole the first fish I ever caught. I can still see him running into the woods with my mackerel as I cried; I was five years old. Chief came back hours later, without my fish. Our relationship would improve.

That year, we summered in Annisquam at one of the houses in great uncle’s private compound. One house was rented to a master at St. Paul’s. Another had been rented to a member of the Crane family, who used it as a trysting place for him and his mistress. I was told Mr. Crane, scion of the immensely rich Chicago plumbing family, would arrive by chauffer-driven launch, tie up at my great uncle’s dock, and visit her while his chauffer, dressed in gray livery, waited. But this all happened before my time.

When I came along, all our family’s attention was on my great uncle, who was gravely ill with ankylosing spondylitis. I was an only child and Chief became my constant companion. One Saturday morning, my parents and I went off in a boat without Chief. Big mistake. When we returned that afternoon, we spotted a furry head bobbing in the middle of the Annisquam River, swimming against the current towards us. Chief had clawed his way through the screen door. Near total exhaustion, he fell asleep as soon as my father carried him into the house. He must have been swimming for hours.

After that, Chief went everywhere with us, grocery shopping, into restaurants, even on the train to Boston. By summer’s end, however, he had lost much of his energy. A trip to the vet confirmed the worst, Chief had inoperable cancer. He was given three months to live.

I still have a picture of me in my orange life preserver, and Chief sitting next to me in the bow seat of an Amesbury skiff. The photo was taken from behind. My arm is wrapped around my dog as we both looked out to sea, inseparable.

My childhood Golden was named Morgan, after the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan (as was my aunt's cat; the other was Cooper. If you couldn't guess, she worked at the Seaport for years.). He was an un-neutered Alpha male who was unbelievably headstrong (e.g., jumping off of cliffs; disobeying his invisible fence to go swimming in the lagoon in the middle of winter) who was also incredibly gentle--we once found him propped up on a shrub, peering into a birds nest on a low branch of a tree filled with chicks, just sniffing curiously. I love it, and would consider naming my eventual adult Golden Morgan II. Relatives have a Golden named Madaket, for the beach on Nantucket--Maddie, for short--who, in contrast to Morgan, ate two pet birds whole in separate incidents. My parents currently have a dog named Mick, which is somewhat inappropriate given his breed's country of origin. We almost named him Argus, for Odysseus's legendarily faithful companion. Later I learned my friend's family's Lab has that name, and I think it's a great one, too.

My two mutts-Lady and Liberty. Liberty was given her name since the pound found her wandering on the street (less than 6 weeks old) the day before July 4th. She is a wonder with the grandchildren.I always liked Emma for a dog, but since I have a granddaughter by that name, it won't be used.

Well, I was never under any illusion that I might be preppy…even my pets don't quite make the grade. I have always had Bearded Collies. Not a preppy breed, but smart, and a hell of a lot of fun. Paddy came first, Sadly he passed, and now we have Fergus. It IS Scotland after all. Maybe he gets points for being from the Old Country?

@ WrySmile, I am enamored with your process of selection and choice of dog and cat names!

@ MGC, what wonderful memories and a wonderful story.

We had a sweet black lab when I was growing up, but as an adult I've opted for non-shedding breeds. Being in the midst of home educating five children, I'm concerned that the challenge of dog hair might seriously and irretrievably impair my mental health. I wish that were an exaggeration! We have a blue merle Australian Shepherd, Sierra, and a Labradoodle, Banjo. Sierra's expertise is rounding up kids and chasing our chickens off the deck, and Banjo is a professional snuggler. Muffy, your dogs are gorgeous! I've long wanted a Golden Retriever. Perhaps when the kids are a bit older I'll get the courage!

32 years ago- golden retriever, Trapper.Today, yellow lab named Baxter.In between, yellow lab Paddywackers, OES Ranger and a repeat Golden, Trapper. we dog overlap as as we don't do dog death well. when my mother died we got a corgi rescue and named her Gwenda, but she goes by GW

Ours is called Boomer, and he is a sweet Golden Retriever and who-knows-what mix that we rescued. Growing up we had hunting dogs: a loyal beagle named Chippie (for rabbit hunting)and two Springer Spaniels (Duke of Pepper and Patches)for pheasant hunting. We also had a hyper black lab named Samson who was a terrible hunting dog but a good friend.

"The ability to experience positive emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child. And this ability suggests a rethinking of how we treat dogs."

My family had Irish Setters when I was a child, a breed you don't see very much any more. The first, whom I was too young to really remember, was Rory. Then we had Rosie and Katie. Most of the setters here are descended from dogs originally from Australia. They tended to be smaller and not as heavily built as the American Irish Setters. Now we just have a cat. My wife and I are at work too much, and it isn't fair to leave a dog by itself all day, in our opinion. Cats don't care, they're usually asleep most of time anyway.

Always amused that Joan Benoit Samuelson, who seems very prep to me, had a black lab named Creosote. Maybe the name evokes a perfect July day in Maine when the sun beats down on the tarred roads and that lovely aroma mixes with the salt air. Only in Maine.

I've always had rescue animals, mixed breed dogs. In my lifetime, I was honored to have raised a total of 10 dogs: Snoopy, Onyx, Scruffy, Patches, Skye, Ceasar, Mo, Teddy, Penelope, and Bean. Our family is a long line of animal lovers, and always had 3 dogs, usually. Each was named according to their personalities. Some were puppies when we got them, some were older. Our current dogs, Bean and Penelope are quite a pair. A sweet but crazy little Chihuahua who was my husbands when we met 10 years ago, and our Penelope whom we rescued from a shelter in my hometown 5 years ago when she was 4. She's a beautiful yellow Norweigan Elkhound and Lab mix. Very furry dog. I could never be without a dog, they have a marvelous presence and bring so much to the home. --Holly in PA

Something funny I'd like to add is that I have my family completely hooked on cats. I got my very first cat ever back in 1998 and everybody just fell in love with the little furball. Since then, we've gotten 6 more, my mother now has 4 and my brother and his family have 4. Sadly, we recently lost 2 of our males: Max to small bowel cancer, and Honeybear, my very first cat, just last week, to kidney failure. --Holly in PA

I think both of our family pets right now may fit somewhere in this spectrum: a very fair-haired (and possibly God-like?) golden retriever named Moby, and a true terror of a Maine Coon (grey coat) named Jaws.

When my husband and I adopted our Scottish Terrier, his breeder had named him Rogue as he was the only black Scotty in the litter. My husband and I preferred a more upbeat name; so my spouse came up with Ruggles. A name that suits our Scotty. He is friendly to humans; acts like a Napoleon to dogs who are bigger than he is; loves to play, adores bananas and carrots, and is loyal to both of us.

The best black dog ever was Salem (Sadie) ~ a Lab-St. Bernard mix if you can imagine that. She never needed a leash no matter where you took her, and she swam in the lake every day up until the day before she died. My sister now has another Sadie. Sadie II is still game for a hike at age 15 and whines if you stop walking. My sister also has Teddy Roosevelt, a cracking-good name for a very tough Chihuahua. One of my favorite dogs of all time was Wendall (a superb dog name!), a Cantab terrier who for a glorious time was "mayor" of Weston, Vermont ~ he attended all the important social gatherings on his own (his owner never went with him ~ she was always looking for him) and I would often find him in my house sleeping under the couch (although he was not my dog and I was never sure how he got in). He would make the rounds of town every day, and each evening trot home right down the middle of the road to his house on the hill. Amy

Dear Muffy,I frequently read you blogg and enjoy it so much. I live at the coast in Northern-Germany and love your insight on the life in New England! We rescued our sweet little dachs hund from an animal shelter and he is very brave and has a good heart. That is why we gave him the name "Bear". Small dog, big name...Many greetings from Germany,Viktoria

I live in England (not New England, England, UK) and all the dogs I know/know of have "normal" people's names such as Bella, Ella, Rosie, Luke etc. Maybe it's a British thing, but this certainly seems to be the fashion over here, just thought you might like to know!

As a haberdasher, my Cairn Terrier's names have been Blue Blazer (20 years) and currently Bow -Tie. My last cat, Malibu aka Bu hit 20. Both had diabetes for the last five years. Blazer lived on my sailboat with me, while Bu learned surfing in San Diego bay.

The cat I got last week is Skipper and he's very much in charge of this house. My only wish is Skipper swat Bow in the nose so he'll be less jealous. Like my mom said "It only takes one swat for the dog to learn who is boss."

We have a Golden Retriever named Bentley. After all, one must have a gold Bentley in the family. LOL. The best dog I have ever had. My wife is a cat person and was a bit hesitant about getting a dog at first. But he just walked into our lives and took over. We can't imagine life without him.